Cycling Shoes, again. Flat-ish Feet edition?

[rothwem]

I've got lake CX237 and Shimano RP7's on the list to try on now. Any thoughts on the Specialized "Torch 2.0 or 3.0" shoes? I really liked my BG pros, but their shoes got stupid pricey for a while so I hadn't really paid attention to them much. The Torch shoes are not so bad though.

I tried on the Torch 3.0, definitly a nice shoe and while the fit was better than the Giros, it still wasn't perfect. The sole profile was decent, but I was almost maxing out the top boa adjuster with my instep height. It could probably work if the other two don't work out.

Wow, that sounds awesome, but incredibly pricey. While it would be awsome to have a $1000 shoe budget, I'm still a working stiff here. $250-300 is about the top of my budget.

You have a whole year to save, Sir.

No road biking for a year? Sounds like almost as much of a bummer as the divorce that would result from me spending $1000 on bike shoes.

[silvalis]

+ lake CX237.
I'm in the wide nearly-flat feet camp.

[kafreeman]

+ lake CX237.
I'm in the wide nearly-flat feet camp.

Another here... tried a bunch on a few years ago and wound up ordering a pair of lake cx237 after seeing their size chart.

Still running them... nice and comfy. Though the heel pad on the left shoe has gotten very loose and spins around on the rivet.

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[silvalis]

i've ground the left pad off my shoe entirely and am just ruining carbon now.

The current version has replacable heel pads.

[zefs]

I've got lake CX237 and Shimano RP7's on the list to try on now. Any thoughts on the Specialized "Torch 2.0 or 3.0" shoes? I really liked my BG pros, but their shoes got stupid pricey for a while so I hadn't really paid attention to them much. The Torch shoes are not so bad though.

Let us know if you test the RP7, intrested in the heel cup they seem to have added on this model which I can also see a similar piece on RP9 and Specialized shoes although not sure if it adds support?

[rothwem]

I've got lake CX237 and Shimano RP7's on the list to try on now. Any thoughts on the Specialized "Torch 2.0 or 3.0" shoes? I really liked my BG pros, but their shoes got stupid pricey for a while so I hadn't really paid attention to them much. The Torch shoes are not so bad though.

Let us know if you test the RP7, intrested in the heel cup they seem to have added on this model which I can also see a similar piece on RP9 and Specialized shoes although not sure if it adds support?

So I guess I was confused, they only seem to make a women's version of the RP7. They've got an RC7, but I wasn't able to find a set to try on.

I did try on a set of the RP5's and they felt pretty good, better than the Torches. Weird me wants the lower stack height of the carbon sole though.

As for heel cups, I didn't notice anything fit-wise on the shoes I tried on, but maybe that's good?

For the Lakes, I think I'm going to have to do the annoying try on and return method, since the nearest vendor is an hour and a half away. Not driving three hours to try on shoes.

[zefs]

Yeah men's is RP9 it seems, which is better stiffness wise (10 vs 8 ) and has the external heel cup compared to RP5 as well as lower stack height it seems. Not sure how the fit compares to their updated RC7 but I am sure they are both good shoes.

[dgasmd]

I have no arches at all. I used to have a pair of custom D2 with customs molded insoles. The shoes were pure chit that never fit right despite sending them back 3-4 times, but the insole was pure gold. Looooooved them to the point that I unused them in other brand shoes even thought they didn’t fit quite right in most.

I ride Shimano Sphyre shoes now, and the wide version fit me great. Very falte carbon sole too. I have some insoles recommended by the fitter, but frankly will try custom made ones again. The trick is to be able to fit them inside the shoes without rising or bulking up the shoes!

[rothwem]

Yeah men's is RP9 it seems, which is better stiffness wise (10 vs 8 ) and has the external heel cup compared to RP5 as well as lower stack height it seems. Not sure how the fit compares to their updated RC7 but I am sure they are both good shoes.

I figured I'd update this thread a bit, since I ended up with a pair of shoes. I bought a set of Shimano RC7s, and they felt great with the exception of one thing--my foot sat too far down in the shoe and the sides of the foot opening rubbed on my ankle bones and they seemed to also pinch my achillies. I thought about buying a heel lift to put my ankle higher in the shoe, but I decided to return them rather than try to rig them up. I was googling around, and apparently, this is common issue, should've done more research.

A bit more mulling things over and googling resulted in me finding a set of leftover previous generation RP9s for $180, and they have a very similar sole profile, but the heel and ankle opening is lower and doesn't contact my ankle bone. The heel is still a little high, but I was able to use my wife's hairdryer to "heat mold" the top of the heel to not get in the way.

I've only gotten one 45 minute trainer ride in on them, but they're already more comfortable than my Giros.

Anyone want a set of sweated-in Giro Trans E70s, size 46?

[Tim25N]

I've recently got Giro Trans E70s too and I wanna say that this is the best c-shoes I've ever had. Its' carbon outsole Easton efficiently transfers power. I used Northwave Spider Plus 2 before.

[akaspin]

Ressurecting topic. After steroid therapy my feet become wider and flat (280x102 mm). Especially left. For now I'm using Lake CX403-X (wide). I have "stay-on-pipe" effect. Also I feel that my left forefoot pushed to outside. Tried custom insoles (gebiomized - not recommend). After heavy heat mold and insole modification (with bloody sandpaper) both effects reduced but still in place.

Now I'm opting to new shoes with less heel lift and straight sole. Infortunately in Berlin bikeshops are dead and I need to order-online-and-return cycle. My current candidates are:

1. Shimano S-Phyre RC902. Wide or regular.
2. S-Works 7 wide.
3. Any other?

What should order first?

[Alexandrumarian]

Ressurecting topic. After steroid therapy my feet become wider and flat (280x102 mm). Especially left. For now I'm using Lake CX403-X (wide). I have "stay-on-pipe" effect. Also I feel that my left forefoot pushed to outside. Tried custom insoles (gebiomized - not recommend). After heavy heat mold and insole modification (with bloody sandpaper) both effects reduced but still in place.

Now I'm opting to new shoes with less heel lift and straight sole. Infortunately in Berlin bikeshops are dead and I need to order-online-and-return cycle. My current candidates are:

1. Shimano S-Phyre RC902. Wide or regular.
2. S-Works 7 wide.
3. Any other?

What should order first?

The Lakes are the most comfy shoes I used, by far. Truly wide and minimal vibration through the sole. Of course nothing comes free and they are heavy. My larger foot is 280x110 and I use 45 wide. I also have Shimano R321 (came before sphyre) in 45 regular, upper is roomy enough but sole too narrow at 95mm. Had Bont in 44.5 regular, too small, I should feel perfect in 45 wide i think.
Recently demoed the Sphyre in 45 wide - big disppointment. The sole is still only 95mm or so and the upper is more restrictive than the old version in regular. Esp small toes are squisehed in hard, they went for a classic Italian shoe shape....
The sworks might have a bit more room but so far I couldn't find out if the actual sole is wider than a shimano. I think that part is very important too. FOr example I have some narrowish running shoes with a knit upper (adidas ultra boost) - the upper splays super easily but my ball of the foot still feel very bad because of the narrow sole.

[alistaird]

I have high arches which collapse as I put weight forward and effectively go flat and then numb toes...

Brought some Fiziks and though they fell uncomfortable to begin with, work really well....

A

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[akaspin]

Ressurecting topic. After steroid therapy my feet become wider and flat (280x102 mm). Especially left. For now I'm using Lake CX403-X (wide). I have "stay-on-pipe" effect. Also I feel that my left forefoot pushed to outside. Tried custom insoles (gebiomized - not recommend). After heavy heat mold and insole modification (with bloody sandpaper) both effects reduced but still in place.

Now I'm opting to new shoes with less heel lift and straight sole. Infortunately in Berlin bikeshops are dead and I need to order-online-and-return cycle. My current candidates are:

1. Shimano S-Phyre RC902. Wide or regular.
2. S-Works 7 wide.
3. Any other?

What should order first?

The Lakes are the most comfy shoes I used, by far. Truly wide and minimal vibration through the sole. Of course nothing comes free and they are heavy. My larger foot is 280x110 and I use 45 wide. I also have Shimano R321 (came before sphyre) in 45 regular, upper is roomy enough but sole too narrow at 95mm. Had Bont in 44.5 regular, too small, I should feel perfect in 45 wide i think.
Recently demoed the Sphyre in 45 wide - big disppointment. The sole is still only 95mm or so and the upper is more restrictive than the old version in regular. Esp small toes are squisehed in hard, they went for a classic Italian shoe shape....
The sworks might have a bit more room but so far I couldn't find out if the actual sole is wider than a shimano. I think that part is very important too. FOr example I have some narrowish running shoes with a knit upper (adidas ultra boost) - the upper splays super easily but my ball of the foot still feel very bad because of the narrow sole.

I'm using 45.5 Wide because I have oriental feet with longer big toe and 45 is a bit tight. Right foot fits nearly perfect. But my left foot is killing me. Left foot collapses completelly under load. The high heel lift of CX403X causes stay-on-tube effect. But the biggest issue is that the curved sole pushes my forefoot outside. The foot felt rotated in the shoe. I heat moulded left shoe and pushed midfoot arch area outside. This reduced rotation effect. But doesn't fully eliminated.

This is the reaso why I'm looking for shoes with less heel lift and more straight sole.

[Alexandrumarian]

I have longest big too if i push fw i can easily stick a finger at the heel but on bike it settles on a nice average. As for the mid and heel my molding consisted in opening them as much as i could, even wrinkled the carbon a bit. Out of the box i could not insert the foot properly, so tight they were...

As for shimano wide 45 vs 402 45 wide ...way different with the forefoot being much tighter. Given your length sensitivity and not excessive width, perhaps a 46 shimano might work. 45.5 w are hard to find.